When
Jesus Christ was preparing to leave His disciples and
return to the glories of heaven, He comforted them by
proclaiming – “Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God,
believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many
mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.
I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and
prepare a place for you, I will come again, and
receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there ye
may be also.” John 14:1-3

As
He ascended up into the heavens, two angels also
comforted the disciples hearts by saying – “Ye men of
Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into
heaven? This same Jesus, Who is taken up from you
into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have
seen Him go into heaven.” Acts 1:11

These
two passages actually deal with Jesus’ return on two
future occasions:

#1 Jesus will return first of all, to
remove His followers from this earth before the
horrendous events of the seven years of Tribulation. We
read about this event that we often refer to as the
“Rapture”, in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

#2 Jesus will also return in power and
great glory to establish His long-awaited kingdom on
earth. This is often referred to the “Revelation” or
appearing of Christ. You can read about that
spectacular future event in
Revelation 19:11-16.

No
one knows the time of Jesus return. Jesus
responded to His disciples’ questions about the timing
of His return. He gave them a number of indications
when the time would be near, but told them very clearly
– “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not
the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” Matthew
24:36 But the prophetic scriptures and the
teachings of Jesus do tell us how to recognize the
seasons of His return (Matthew 24:32-35). We
have listed some of the things to be aware of in this
brief study:

WHAT
WILL THE WORLD BE LIKE WHEN JESUS RETURNS?

1.
In
fulfillment of Daniel 12:4, KNOWLEDGE HAS GREATLY INCREASED
during the past 100 years:

a)
God has
“opened the book” and released knowledge of the
prophetic Scriptures during the past century.

b) Man
can now destroy an entire nation in one hour as
prophesied in Revelation 18:10, 17, and 19. Nuclear
warfare seems to be clearly described throughout the
Book of Revelation (especially Revelation chapter
18, Isaiah chapter 13 and Jeremiah chapters 50 and 51.

2.
Daniel
the prophet was also told that END-TIME EVENTS WOULD
COME SUDDENLY LIKE A FLOOD(Daniel 9:26).

3.
Europe is trying to form an ECONOMIC CONFEDERACY known as the European
Common Market with headquarters in Brussels. (This economic league of nations appears to
be in fulfillment of Daniel chapter 2 and Daniel
7:7-8) and the REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE
eventually consisting of ten nations.

Note: Man is now developing a world-wide
electronic identification system as described in
Revelation chapter 13:13-17. This mandatory ID will be
“in their right hand or in their foreheads” (see vs.
16) and without this mark
“no man might buy or sell.”

4.
We are in the midst of
a WORLD-WIDE
MORAL AND SPIRITUAL BREAKDOWN
where all authority will be defied. We have witnessed
world leaders throw off all restraints as they live in
great immorality and defiance of that which is right.
(These “perilous days” of lawlessness and
ungodliness are described in detail in 2 Timothy
3:1-5).

Note: Jesus also spoke of this increase of
lawlessness in Matthew 24:37-39 and in Luke
17:28-29.
He described world and cultural conditions as similar to
the days of Sodom and Gomorrah.

5.
EARTHQUAKES
have continued to increase at incredible and escalating
rates over the past fifty years. Many scientists
believe the increase in these tremors is in preparation
for the “great earthquake” which will shake the
entire earth during the Great Tribulation (see
Revelation 11:13, Matthew 24:7 and
Isaiah 13:13).

6.
The
possibility of worldwide FAMINE (hunger) and
PESTILENCE (disease) is now a daily reality. (see
Matthew 24:7)

7.
The people of ISRAEL
are once again occupying part of their God-given land.
Their national rebirth was prophesied in both the Old
and New Testaments (see Ezekiel 36:24-28) and
will occur before their spiritual rebirth. (Ezekiel
37:1-10 and Matthew 24:32-35)

Note:
Jesus said that the “generation” living at the
time of Israel’s national rebirth would not pass away
until ALL of the end-time prophetic events would be fulfilled.
(Matthew 24:34) Most Bible scholars agree that a
Biblical generation consists of approximately 40 years!

ALL OF
THE GENTILE NATIONS ARE NOW IN PLACE FOR THE FULFILLMENT
OF END-TIME PROPHECIES:

8.
The vast nation of
China
now has the ability of fielding an army of 200
million soldiers as prophesied in Rev. 9:13-18.

9.
RUSSIA(“Gog and Magog”) has become a major world
power as prophesied in Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39.
World wide dependence upon oil is making the Middle East
one of the most important regions upon earth and a vast
army from the far north will one day invade God’s land
according to Ezekiel 38:8-12.

Note:
The Land of Israel is described for us
in Genesis 15:18 and includes all the
land up to the Euphrates River! The destruction of “Gog” may very well take place in the desert sands
of Iraq or Saudi Arabia or Jordan, all of
which are east of present day Israel.

10.
The Soviet military
alliance with a vast ISLAMIC army consisting of
soldiers from Ethiopia, Libya, Turkey and
PERSIA could come together in a moments’ time.
The modern day countries of Iran and Afghanistan make up
the ancient Persian Empire. (See Ezekiel 38:4-6)

11.
Christendom is now characterized by
unbelief and self sufficiency. The church of today
is described by the Lord’s message to Laodicea which
means “lukewarm.”
Revelation 3:14-22

12.
Jesus before the beginning of “the day
of the LORD”, the national, economic and religious
leaders all over the world will proclaim “PEACE and
SAFETY” in a world that is like a powder keg. 1
Thessalonians 5:2-3

WHEN
WILL THESE THINGS BE? Jesus
said that no man would know the exact time of His coming
but we are to “watch and be ready.”Matthew 24:42-44 1 Thessalonians 5:6